


stupid lie.

by kobusrain



Category: BEYOOOOONDS (Band), Hello! Project
Genre: F/F, Gay Panic, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25697212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobusrain/pseuds/kobusrain
Summary: She was trying not to appear like a complete fool in front of her crush.
Relationships: Okamura Minami/Shimakura Rika
Kudos: 5





	stupid lie.

Art club, for the most part, was the one thing Rika always looked forward to. 

But it was not for the typical reason of just being in a room and painting, or discussing art. No, Rika had a different reason, which had been her  _ kohai _ in the club. The first year student whose smile reminded Rika of the sun, and whose heart knew no hatred whatsoever. Minami was quite popular, she noticed, and even got a few confessions to which Minami would all reject. There was a clear reason why Minami was popular, and Rika knew exactly why. If Rika was asked what world peace was, she’d answer Minami, without an ounce of hesitation. 

Her mind kept going back to her whenever she was in Rika’s line of sight, and at some point she found herself getting distracted more and more at the thought of Minami. It did not take long for her to realize the reason why her heart would race at the sight of her. 

Rika liked Minami. The only thing she was not sure about was how obvious she might have made it seem to anyone. 

They had gotten close thanks to being in the art club together. Close enough that Minami was comfortable initiating a conversation with her even though she was two school years younger than Rika was. Maybe Minami was simply friendly, but Rika was definitely not the approachable type which made her wonder why someone so  _ perfect _ as Minami would just start up a conversation with her. 

But what Minami had done one day was just a surprise to Rika. She approached her, greeting her for a good day’s work after they finished up their club activities. They were the only two left in the art room, as everyone finished quickly and rushed out since it was the weekend. “Shimakura-senpai!” started Minami, beaming at Rika who was left speechless by the radiant smile of hers. “Is it okay if we walk home together? We go the same direction, right?” 

They found out about this recently, when they went home at the same time. Usually Minami would leave before Rika, as the latter needed to close up the art room, but one day they ended up leaving at the same time and found that they went the same way for most of the trip home. Rika took a short second to process Minami’s request before she answered. “Oh, uh, yeah! Of course!” Rika replied, then her mind started running. Only then did she realize she was going to spend  _ more _ time with Minami for the day. She knew she had to get her act together, and not be a bumbling idiot on the way home. They left the room, and Minami waited as Rika locked up the art room. After changing their shoes, they met up once again at the front and began to walk home together. 

Rika tried to initiate a conversation, but Minami beat her to the punch. “Senpai, is there someone you like…?” She suddenly asked, which made Rika almost trip. “Oh, I’m sorry for such an out of the blue question like that! I was…. I was just curious!” 

The older cleared her throat. “Uh, no… Not really?” she lied. 

“Oh, I see.” 

Minami sounded disappointed, but Rika never picked up on it as she was too busy keeping herself from fumbling about. The rest of the way was awkward, being mostly silent. Rika, however, was too engrossed in herself to even notice Minami’s hesitation to say anything after that. 

Still, a part of Rika did not mind this kind of silence. Walking beside Minami was already enough for her. 

* * *

It was Tuesday, which meant that they would not have club activities after school. 

Rika and Minami walked home the previous day once again, and it had been a few days since the first time they did. The previous day went a lot more smoother, with Rika being able to initiate a conversation that lasted the whole way until Minami eventually had to turn a different direction. 

She wanted to walk home with Minami again, and worked up the courage to find Minami after school. Rika thought that she was doing a great job so far with not appearing like a complete fool in front of her crush. Rika found Minami changing her shoes, but the other did not notice her. Instead, Minami’s attention was towards another girl who was waiting by the front doors. 

“Hime-chan! Sorry for the wait!” Minami said, rushing to the other girl without ever seeing Rika. Minami’s smile was bright as usual, but Rika noticed something else. It was brighter than usual, and somehow it made her heart sink to the ground. She could have sworn it even shattered when Minami held hands with the other girl. 

“Come on, Miimi! The frozen yogurt isn’t gonna be there forever, y’know,” said the other, earning one of the sweetest laughs from Minami. The laugh alone was enough to end Rika. 

The pair walked away, and Rika felt weak in the knees. All this time she assumed Minami was not dating anyone, and every time she rejected a confession, it meant that Rika had a higher chance with her. As it turns out, Minami might have already found someone else, and Rika’s heart ached at the thought of her efforts being in vain. 

Shamefully, Rika walked home on her own that day. 

* * *

The next day, Rika decided to ask Minami about yesterday. 

They were alone in the art room once again. Minami seemed to have finished early, but decided to wait for Rika upon the older girl’s request earlier. As they both packed up their belongings, Rika took a deep breath and spoke up, but tried to find a tone in which she would still seem like herself and not an interrogator. 

“Okamura,” started Rika, now being face to face with Minami, though she found that she could not stare at her for too long. Those eyes of hers were Rika’s weakness. “Y-yesterday I went to go look for you but, uh…”

Rika could not continue, but Minami quickly picked up. “Oh! Sorry! I went out with a friend yesterday after school.”

_ Friend? _

The older cleared her throat, trying not to appear shaken up. The details she wanted to hear were still too vague, so she continued to pry. “A-actually… I saw you and your friend on the way out of school… holding hands… Are you two…?”

Minami frantically shook her head, waving her arms in defence as soon as she understood where Rika was heading with the conversation. “No, no! Hime-chan is just a really close friend of mine. We’ve been friends since childhood and just hold hands a lot. I get why that would make some people think we were dating…” She nervously laughed, but Rika felt slightly relieved now. She knew Minami, and just from observation she knew that this purehearted girl would never lie for any reason. 

But in that moment Rika did something completely stupid. 

After sighing in relief, she turned away from Minami with a small smile. “Alright, good. That means I still get a chance,” she said out loud, but realized only seconds later that she did so. Petrified, Rika turned towards a now speechless -- and slightly blushing -- Minami.  _ Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Rika, what the fuck?! _ Her mind was racing, but now that it was out there, Rika may as well continue on. 

“... I like you, Okamura. I’ve liked you for a while now. Would you… would you go out with me?” 

Rika thought that she was for sure going to get rejected. She knew how Minami rejected confessions -- “I’m very sorry, but I can’t accept,” she would say. Polite, but quick. It was always the same pattern, but this time, Minami said something completely different from her usual line. 

Minami pursed her lips for a moment, and then shyly turned away from Rika. “I… um… could you please give me some time to think about it…?” she murmured. No smile could be seen in the girl’s face, but a blush was present, and at that point Rika thought she had messed up enough to completely embarrass a now broken Minami. 

Then Minami hastily grabbed her bag and dashed out of the room without bothering to wait for Rika’s response. Backing up against the wall, Rika slumped down, processing the entire exchange in her head. 

“What… What does that even mean?”

* * *

For the next week or so, Rika and Minami did not talk except in the art club, when necessary. 

Everyone noticed that ever since that day, Rika has been constantly on high alert, panicking at every little thing even if it did not involve Minami. She overthought the words that the younger girl told her that day, trying to find the reason why Minami would tell her that. Was there a chance that Minami liked her back, or was Minami just trying to find the right words to say in order to not hurt Rika? 

Rika could not even meet eyes with Minami. Whenever their eyes would connect, Minami would break it off by quickly turning away. She also stopped initiating conversations with Rika, and tried to leave the club as soon as she could to avoid walking home with Rika. The older was beginning to think that Minami hated her. 

But after a week, Minami stayed behind and seemingly waited for Rika. 

She wanted to ask why, but Rika decided to keep her mouth shut in case Minami might dodge her once again. Luckily, Minami broke the silence and started the conversation. “S-Shimakura-senpai… About the other day…” she brought up, and Rika was already preparing for the worst case scenario. She urged Minami to continue. 

“I… I like you, too.”

“Wait, what?” 

Rika blurted out her response all of a sudden, as it was not the words she expected to hear from Minami. The other laughed, a gentle but heartwarming laugh that Rika always thought would bring world peace if everyone heard it. “I’m sorry, Senpai. Actually… I’ve liked you for a while, too, but after hearing that you didn’t like anyone, I kind of thought I didn’t have a chance, and then my feelings got all jumbled up,” she explained, before bowing. 

Because of Rika’s stupid lie, Minami ended up needing to sort her own feelings. Only now did Rika realize that she  _ had _ been a complete fool from the get-go. She took a deep breath, however, and because of Minami’s contagious smile, she found herself grinning. “I’m sorry about that, Oka-- no, Minami,” she corrected herself, but Minami giggled once again and rushed to boldly hold Rika’s hand. 

“Miimi. Miimi’s fine. I’ve always wanted you to call me that instead,” admitted Minami, with a soft blush on her cheeks. The action also made Rika’s cheeks go red, but at that point she was smiling too much to even care. 

Maybe being a bumbling idiot has its perks. 

Rika tightened the hold she had on Minami’s hand, before pulling her in for a soft kiss. 

“Okay, Miimi. Let’s go home together.” 


End file.
